Wadleigh was right there with Thomas Jefferson, leading late in the first half, within three points of the top-seeded Orange Wave midway through the third quarter. The Carnesecca Arena crowd was behind the underdog and eighth-seeded Tigers, sensing a possible upset.

Then Thaddeus Hall snapped his wrists a few times, hitting one 3-pointer longer than the next. The crowd remained loud – but it was in support of Hall. The PSAL Class AA quarterfinal was no longer in doubt.

Hall scored 11 of his game-high 25 points in a quarter-closing 17-7 run and Jefferson cruised to an 80-61 rout of Wadleigh on Sunday night. It will face No. 4 Wings Academy, a 56-46 winner over No. 5 Cardozo, in the semifinals next Saturday at 7:15 p.m., back at St. John’s.

The flashy 6-foot-5 Hall’s eye-popping performance has indeed become typical since he returned from a back injury in early January. The Orange Wave (24-6) have lost just once – against national powerhouse St. Anthony of Jersey City – in those contests with Hall often bludgeoning the opponent.

“I don’t feel like anyone can stop me,” said Hall, who grabbed seven rebounds and picked up a scholarship offer from St. John’s after the impressive display in front of head man Steve Lavin.

Until recently, most of his baskets have come from inside the 3-point arc. He’s begun to find his stroke after noticing on film he was fading away on his jump shot rather than going straight up. Hall sank six 3-pointers in Wednesday’s second-round victory over Robeson and hit four more on Sunday.

“I think I have more confidence than anybody playing basketball right now,” he said. “When you have confidence, that’s when shots fall.”

While Hall’s effort has become commonplace, Jalen Evans’ performance was a pleasant surprise. The reserve guard scored 17 points and added three assists. He helped further the rout by knifing into the lane as Wadleigh paid extra attention to Hall and Jaquan (Son Son) Lynch, who had 14 points and five assists.

“I thought he was the MVP today,” Pollard said. “He changed the tempo of the game. He got to the basket and he made plays.”

Basil Harley led Wadleigh (23-7) with 25 points and Louis Costen had 10.

It was particularly satisfying for Evans, a senior whose father, Ken Evans, nearly came to blows with Pollard during the loss to St. Anthony on Feb. 15. Ken Evans took umbrage with Pollard over the coach’s treatment of his son, and the two nearly come to blows.

“I put that behind me, I want to win a championship,” Jalen Evans said. “This could be my last game, it’s the playoffs, I want to go out the right way.”

Pollard said he hasn’t spoken with Ken Evans, a childhood friend, since the incident. He wasn’t in attendance on Sunday, but if he was, Pollard joked: “instead of a slug, I would give him a hug.”

After getting over the initial shock, Jalen Evans actually used it as motivation. He’s put in more hours in the gym and has begun to be more aggressive.

“If I’m doing what I’m supposed to do on the court, I wouldn’t have been on the bench in the first place,” he said.

Jalen Evans helped Jefferson inch one step closer to Madison Square Garden. The Orange Wave have been to this point before, reaching the semis four times in Pollard’s eight-year tenure. The coach isn’t as obsessed with getting to the Garden — he plans on attending the Big East tournament this week — as he is with winning the school’s first city title since 1954.

After watching Wings struggle with Cardozo, the talkative Hall expects to be playing for a championship March 17.

“That’s an easy one,” he said. “I don’t think Wings can deal with us. They don’t have as much heart as us.”